Berlin, city in northeastern Germany, capital of a united Germany from 1871 to 1945 and again since 1990. It lies on the flatlands of the North German Plain at the confluence of several rivers and amid many lakes. The city's slight elevation made it a site for human settlement even in prehistoric times. Berlin has a population of about 3,454,200 (1992 estimate) and an area of approximately 889 sq km (343 sq mi).
After World War II (1939-1945) Berlin, badly damaged during the war, was situated within the German Democratic Republic (GDR; also known as East Germany). The city was subsequently partitioned into East Berlin and West Berlin. The divided city not only symbolized the collapse of the German Empire, of which it was the capital, but also became a focus of Cold War tensions between the Communist nations led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the group of Western nations led by the United States. The Berlin Wall, a barrier separating East and West Berlin built by the East Germans in 1961, blocked free access in both directions until November 1989; during the time it stood, at least 80 people died attempting to cross from East to West Berlin. By the time Germany was unified in October 1990, much of the wall had been torn down. A few small segments remain as memorials.
Economy
Following the division of the city of Berlin in 1949, the economies of the two halves of the city were integrated into the economies of the two newly separated republics of Germany.
The economy of East Berlin was totally integrated with that of East Germany and also benefited from a steady stream of visitors from West Berlin and West Germany. East Berlin was the hub of East Germany's commercial, financial, and transportation systems, and, although it comprised less than one-half of the former unified city, it was also a huge manufacturing center. Among its principal manufactures were steel and rubber goods, electrical and transportation equipment, chemicals, and processe